Netanyahu visits east Jerusalem in final day of campaign

Posted:
Monday, March 16, 2015 10:15 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has made a last-minute campaign stop in east Jerusalem as he seeks to shore up support in his hard-line base ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary election.

On the final day of campaigning Monday, Netanyahu visited Har Homa, a Jewish development in east Jerusalem that is viewed as an illegal settlement by the Palestinians and the international community. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in 1967, as their capital.

Netanyahu vowed to preserve Jerusalem's unity "in all its parts" and said he would "continue to build and fortify" the city to prevent any future division.

Netanyahu's Likud Party has been lagging in opinion polls, and he has stepped up his nationalist rhetoric in the final days of the campaign.